Emerald People’s Utility District (EPUD) crews are continuing power restoration efforts in the face of a historic outage caused by the recent snowstorm. EPUD staff worked alongside three outside crews throughout the night to restore power and clear downed power lines.
“We may have never seen so many broken poles. The destruction is unprecedented,” said Patty Jo Angelini, public relations coordinator. “Safety continues to be our priority, so crews are cutting power to downed lines and removing them from roadways and driveways. We want our customers to understand that if they see us moving lines and leaving it is because we have other downed lines to take care of. We will be back to restore power.”
Power has been restored to hundreds of customers but widespread outages remain. A fourth outside crew is coming today from Forest Grove Light & Power to provide assistance.
“We continue to urge our customers to temporarily stay with friends or family. We have a long, cold week ahead of us,” she said.
Emerald PUD is a not‐for‐profit electric utility formed in 1978 by a small group of local citizens who wanted better, customer‐oriented service at the lowest possible rates. Today EPUD serves more than 20,000 meters in Lane County, Oregon.
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